Niklas Krütten in sight of podium on Formula 4 debut in Abu Dhabi

First race weekend with Mücke Motorsport in Formula 4 UAE
Successful switch from karting to formula racingNiklas: “I raised my performance with each successive day, and I now have a really good foundation on which to build”

Niklas Krütten made his single-seater racing debut last weekend. At the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, where Formula 1 is an annual visitor, the Mücke Motorsport driver contested his first race weekend in the Formula 4 UAE competition. Krütten sees the junior series in the United Arab Emirates as the ideal preparation for an attempt at the rookie championship in both the German and Italian Formula 4.

What makes Formula 4 UAE particularly attractive to the talented young contestants is that they get to compete in four 30-minute races per weekend, the perfect way to gain experience quickly. Krütten took advantage of the generous track time and steadily improved his lap times over the course of the weekend. One of his opponents was David Schumacher, the son of ex-Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher.

In the first of the four races on the Yas Marina Circuit, Krütten finished a creditable eighth. The 15-year-old from Trier then had bad luck in Race 2, however, when part of a kerb broke off as he drove over it and got wedged under his car. Due to the unplanned pit stop to remove this fragment, he had to settle for P11. The highlight of Krütten’s maiden race outing came in the third race with a fourth-place finish. He then rounded off the weekend with seventh place in Race 4.

In three weeks’ time (23rd – 24th February), Krütten will be contesting his second Formula 4 UAE race weekend in Abu Dhabi.

Three questions for Niklas Krütten

How would you sum up your first Formula 4 races?
I got better as the weekend went on. In the first race, the engine died on me at the start, but in the second race I got off to a good start. I also became more aggressive during the weekend and made some good overtaking moves, especially in the third race. My lap times have also improved considerably from the first tests to the last race.

So, on balance, you would say it went well?
Absolutely! I’m satisfied with the results and with the progress I’ve made. I raised my performance with each successive day, and I now have a really good foundation on which to build. So next time round, I won’t have to start from scratch, and I should be on song right away.

What targets are you setting yourself for the second race weekend?
I came quite close to a podium finish this weekend with fourth place. Next time, I want to make it into the Top Three. Even better than one podium place would obviously be several of them, but that also depends on how the races pan out. In any case, I am fully motivated and just can’t wait for the second race weekend to come around.

Photo: Adriano Coutinho